Irish gold and zinc exploration company Arkle Resources was granted three licences covering 163 ha to prospect for lithium in the Insiza district of the Matabeleland South province of Zimbabwe in June.

At the time, the directors reported their belief that these licences, which cover a small area, represent a low-cost entry into one of the foremost lithium-producing countries in the world.

Arkle staff identified the free ground, pegged it and applied for licences. The ground saw limited mining of lepidolite in the late 1960s. Lepidolite is a lithium-bearing mineral associated with spodumene.

“This is a toe-in-the-water exercise by Arkle. The directors have long experience in Zimbabwe and are aware of the extensive history and potential for hard rock lithium in the country. The lithium is contained in spodumene/pegmatites. It is only recently that rising lithium prices and the potential of a massive supply gap to meet battery demand have made extraction of hard rock lithium viable,” Arkle chairperson John Teeling comments.

“The Arkle approach is to make a low-cost entry into both Zimbabwe and lithium. We have examined what ground was available and been granted three licences, one of which was a small lepidolite producer – a lithium associated mineral. “We continue to examine additional opportunities in battery metals.”

As reported in Mining Weekly Online last month, analyst company Fitch Solutions estimates that there are nine lithium mining projects in development in Africa – in Zimbabwe, Namibia, Mali, Ghana and the Democratic Republic of Congo – which is still small relative to the number of projects being developed in the Americas, Australia and Europe.

Moreover, Fitch Solutions expected Zimbabwe to remain the largest lithium producer on the continent in the near term, with production growth underpinned by the Arcadia lithium project and government support.

The article noted that Fitch Solutions expected an increase in lithium developments in Africa, amid its bullish outlook for a sustained recovery in prices, owing to lithium’s importance to the transition to a green economy.

Fitch Solutions further noted that, global efforts to diversity lithium sources will attract foreign investment into Africa in the coming years as major economies look to secure lithium for their battery supply chains.